Sabres' TV ratings cap record-breaking January

by jmaloni

Press release

Thu, Feb 14th 2013 09:00 am

Sabres
game telecasts on MSG posted the best-ever numbers for month of
January

Buffalo
Sabres game telecasts achieved record numbers for the month of
January with both locally and nationally televised games setting new
marks for viewership. Sabres games on MSG posted the highest-ever
ratings for the month of January, besting the previous mark by more
than 28 percent, and the Sabres' nationally televised game against
the Flyers on Jan. 20 garnered the highest regional rating for a
Sabres game broadcast on NBC, excluding the Winter Classic. The
record television ratings build upon the Sabres' record ticket and
merchandise sales numbers as the team returned from the lockout.

"The
January ratings figures are staggering," said Buffalo Sabres
President Ted Black. "They speak to the rabid enthusiasm this
region has for Buffalo Sabres hockey. The fans are the reason why
Buffalo is one of the marquee NHL markets, and we will strive to
build on that momentum going forward."

During
the month of January, Sabres telecasts on MSG posted a rating average
of 10.9, the highest-ever mark for the team's game broadcasts
during the month, and the second-highest monthly rating since the
2005-06 season. The previous high-water mark for January telecasts
was an 8.5 rating set during January 2008. The team's highest
average monthly rating for MSG telecasts was an 11.2 rating set in
March 2008.

In
addition to the month-long ratings numbers, two Sabres game telecasts
on MSG - the Jan. 27 game vs. Washington and the Jan. 25 game vs.
Carolina - ranked among the top 20 highest-rated Sabres telecasts
on MSG. The Jan. 27 game earned an 11.3 rating (21 share;
approximately 71,000 viewers), while the Jan. 25 matchup recorded an
11.2 rating (17 share; approximately 71,000 viewers).

The
team's season-opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 20
drew the highest-ever rating in the Buffalo market for a nationally
televised, regular-season Sabres game, excluding the 2008 Winter
Classic. The game telecast, broadcast on NBC, posted a 20.1 rating
and a 34 share, topping the team's previous record - a 13.0
rating and 22 share - set by a Sabres-Flyers game broadcast on MSG
on April 8, 2011.

The
20.1 rating on Jan. 20 indicates that 20.1 percent of
television-equipped households were tuned into the game at some point
during the broadcast and the 34 share means 34 percent of households
watching TV in the region Sunday afternoon were watching the game. In
the Buffalo market, that translates to approximately 127,000
households.

The
television ratings were one of several remarkable demonstrations of
fan support as the Sabres returned to the ice from the lockout. On
Jan. 13, the Sabres sold more than 30,000 tickets in 24 hours. The
sales numbers bested the ticket sales pace of previous seasons by
almost six-fold. In 2011-12, the team sold 11,170 tickets during a
two-day sales period.

Additionally,
during a week-long "Fan Appreciation Sale" during the team's
training camp, the Sabres Store sold nearly 50,000 pieces of
merchandise, the most the team has ever sold in such a short period
of time and a total that was greater than the amount sold during the
entire 2010-11 Sabres' season.